NASCAR playoff picture: Cup Series points standings after Austin Dillon penalty

Austin Dillon was stripped of his automatic playoff berth into the Cup Series playoffs in a penalty issued by NASCAR on Wednesday, changing the playoff picture once again.

Dillon won Sunday’s race at Richmond, wrecking both Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano through turns 3 and 4 on the final lap to take the lead and secure the victory. Dillon keeps the win in the record book, but his auto berth into the playoffs is no more. He also lost 25 drivers and owners points, dropping him to 31st in the points standings. Dillon could still earn playoff eligibility by winning one the final three regular season races, starting with Sunday’s race at Michigan.

With that change, Chris Buescher and Ross Chastain are tied for the final playoff spot heading into Michigan. It is very unlikely that anyone other than Buescher, Chastain, Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace or Martin Truex Jr. will factor into the wild card race. But a surprise win could change that math.

Here’s the full playoff picture after Sunday’s race in Richmond:

NASCAR Cup playoff picture: Who is in, out after Austin Dillon penalty

Top 16 advance to playoffs

This season’s winners (locked into playoffs)

1: Kyle Larson (4 wins, 28 playoff points, regular season points leader)

2. Christopher Bell (3 wins, 25 playoff points)

3. Denny Hamlin (3 wins, 21 playoff points)

4. William Byron (3 wins, 16 playoff points)

5. Ryan Blaney (2 wins, 12 playoff points)

6. Tyler Reddick (1 win, 8 playoff points)

7. Austin Cindric (1 win, 7 playoff points)

8. Chase Elliott (1 win, 6 playoff points)

9. Joey Logano (1 win, 6 playoff points)

10. Daniel Suarez (1 win, 6 playoff points)

11. Brad Keselowski (1 win, 5 playoff points)

12. Alex Bowman (1 win, 5 playoff points)

Wild card playoff points standings

13. Martin Truex Jr. (+78 ahead of Buescher and Chastain)

14. Ty Gibbs (+18)

15. Bubba Wallace (+3)

16. Chris Buescher (+0; wins tiebreaker with Chastain)

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17. Ross Chastain (-0 behind 16th place)

18. Chase Briscoe (-99)

19. Kyle Busch (-119)

20. Todd Gilliland (-130)

NASCAR Cup Series remaining regular season schedule

• Aug. 18: FireKeepers Casino 400, Michigan International Speedway (1:30 p.m., USA Network)

• Aug. 24: Coke Zero Sugar 400, Daytona International Speedway (6:30 p.m., NBC)

• Sept. 1: Cook Out Southern 500, Darlington Raceway (5 p.m., USA Network)

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR playoff picture: Cup points standings after Austin Dillon penalty